Suzanne Sheer

Philly-based R&B powerhouse Suzanne Sheer combines experimental electronic music with soulful, sexual and surreal ballads on her debut LP, The Blue Hour (out June 10 via Cake Productions). Her works suture our deepest wounds, pinning loneliness to the ground. Dark synths and grimy drum and bass grooves mesh with Sheer’s heart crushing balladry and artful pop sensibilities, syncing effortlessly with producers 3XPO – who’s shared stages with DJ Premier, Mobb Deep, The Pharcyde, Jadakiss and more – and LOTITS, both of whom manifest kaleidoscopic beats and silky co-production that might just make Timbaland proud. 

A Pittsburgh native, Sheer once found herself recording with producer Ricky P and Wiz Khalifa, partying in L.A. with Taylor Gang at age 18. “That was an insane time in my life; it helped inform my time spent in the studio, and how I think about recording these days,” says Sheer. Philly favorites, Simon Martinez (Jazmine Sullivan, Flanafi) on guitar, and GRAMMY-nominated drummer Steve McKie (DJ Jazzy Jeff, Killiam Shakespeare) appear on select tracks, resulting in a debut record that pulls no punches. On The Blue Hour, Sheer champions sex positivity, hoping to instill confidence in those discouraged by media or the endless loop of disenchantment granted by the double-edged nature of our dear friend, the internet. “It’s important for people to feel sexual. Music is such a beautiful and comfortable way to enjoy sexuality, whether it be by yourself or with someone else.” 

“Godly” incorporates this sentiment in lockstep with Sheer’s divine vocals, where – in the chorus – she sings, “The way that you work my body/Got me ready to hurt somebody/You must be evil/‘Cause there’s just no way somebody godly could do this to me.” The sheer amount of pining is enshrined in the track’s crystalline falsettos, elastic synth bass, and mercurial fuzz guitar, seething under the surface, as though ready to rip right through the atmosphere. “Down For You” continues with swirling synths and cosmic swells, suffusing glitchy textures and skittering rhythmic fixtures, while Sheer commands, “Why don’t you claim your prize/Come for me/I see it in your eyes.”

Then there’s “Girls On The Internet,” an about-face, flushed with bitter resentment, ultimately sharpened by Sheer’s solidarity with women. “This one’s for the girls out there. It’s a callout song. Let it make you feel a little bit angry, but also a little bit feisty,” says Sheer. The accompanying visual shines a stark spotlight on Sheer’s periphery, wherein she migrates from jealousy to admiration for the women flickering into the foreground of her apartment, showering them with words of affirmation as they dance to the beat of her ethos: “Soft lips, flawless/Blonde tips, heartless/Gorgeous, goddess/Run them pockets.”

Though The Blue Hour is ensconced in darker, dance floor-ready hooks, its euphoria lies in Sheer’s ineffable emotive ability to cast brilliant, incandescent choruses that are bound to turn heads, whispering “begone” to all our demons. An ambitious debut record from the collective, The Blue Hour is just the beginning of an era from Sheer and her crew, who adopt The Weeknd’s futurist pop methodology and Adele’s iconic vulnerability, with foresight into their own collagist masterwork.